Get Thinking Snow?

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Its time to get thinking about the snow and the festival if you are seriously thinking of going to Sapporo’s 61st Yuki Matsuri/Snow Festival in 2010. The hotels, trains, and planes get booked out very quickly and whilst the first week in February can seem a long way away …. its a good time to start planning for the snow!

The snow festival is always held in the first week of February. The organisers planning, of course, also starts early in the year. Around June/July ideas are requested from school children or the general public as to what types of sculptures they would like to see. Each year the sculptures are dedicated to particular events or anniversaries.

: Egypt in Ice

The Egyptian structure above would have taken nearly a month to make! And it would have needed scaffolding, various construction machines and heavy specialist snow machinery. The sculptors would have started at the top and worked their way down.

The below collage shows the type of framework necessary to construct something so large.

Its a major project each year and one which Japan’s self-defense forces have played a hand in managing with the organisers. They have provided engineers each year for many decades to get the sculptures ready for the festival. Sadly, when the week long festival is finished the statues are quickly demolished by big diggers, overnight almost….. this is for the publics safety ….but it seems such a shame!

Yuki Matsuri is certainly, worth a visit in 2010, so get planning – get thinking snow!